Azure Sky believed in "well‑rounded" disciples.
Which, in practice, meant even archive brats were expected to show they could hold a stick without impaling themselves.
"The sect hosts a quarterly basic test," Zhou Yuan explained as they walked toward the lower training yard. "Body, qi, and moral conduct. Servants too, though expectations are lower. Don't worry; no one expects you to split boulders."
"Good," Xiao‑lan said. "Stones have feelings."
"Tell that to Flame Peak," Zhou snorted.
The yard was crowded.
Outer disciples formed lines, wooden swords and staves in hand. Servants clustered to one side, fidgeting. Elder Guo (Punishment Hall) presided, belly and glare both formidable.
[SCAN: TEST]
Components:
– Physical drills (running, stances).
– Basic qi circulation demonstration.
– Simple ethics questions.
"The last part is my favorite," Zhou said. "Last time, he asked a sword maniac what he'd do if ordered to kill an innocent child. The boy said, 'Sharpen my sword.' He spent a week scrubbing toilets."
Xiao‑lan winced. "Deserved."
"They learned," Zhou said. "Mostly."
Servants went first, to get them out of the way.
Run a lap.
Hold a stance.
Demonstrate one breathing pattern.
Xiao‑lan's lungs burned, but Shared Breath practice paid off; she didn't collapse.
Her qi demonstration—gentle river flow through safe channels—drew a small nod from Guo.
Then came ethics.
A pair at a time, he called them forward.
"What would you do if you saw a senior disciple steal from the stores?" he asked one boy.
"Report to Law Hall," the boy said promptly.
"To Law Hall first," Guo corrected. "Not your friends. You are not a gossip hen."
Another: "If ordered to burn a village of mortals as 'enemy sympathizers'?"
Silence.
"Refuse," one servant girl said timidly. "Ask Law Hall to confirm."
"Law Hall is lazy," Guo grunted. "But yes. Better to annoy us than slaughter blindly."
When Xiao‑lan's turn came, he squinted at her.
"Archive rat," he said. "Hypothetical."
She braced.
"You are told to write a contract that clearly binds one party unfairly," he said. "You are threatened with beatings if you refuse. What do you do?"
Her System chimed with interest.
Ethics Simulation: High Relevance.
She considered.
"If I refuse outright, they might beat me and find someone less careful," she said slowly. "If I obey, I help the injustice. So…I write the contract exactly as requested, with no hidden traps. Then I write a second, secret copy noting the imbalance and send it to Law Hall."
Guo grunted.
"Hm," he said. "You do not sabotage the contract yourself?"
"Law Hall exists for a reason," she said. "If we start twisting deals secretly, we become the demons. But letting it pass without record is also wrong. So…paper trail."
Zhou Yuan's eyes shone.
Guo snorted.
"Law brats," he muttered. "Always thinking in scrolls. Acceptable."
He waved her away.
Behind him, a Flame Peak instructor rolled his eyes.
"Too soft," he grumbled to a colleague. "In war, you don't have time to send letters."
"In war, you especially need people who remember rules," the colleague replied quietly. "Or you become what we fight."
Xiao‑lan's System hummed.
Alignment: Stubbornly Lawful (Customized).
Minor compatibility increase with Law Hall elders.
"Stubbornly lawful?" she thought. "Rude."
Accurate, it replied.